Box Score by Benny Benton
CENTRAL, S.C. – Barton College used second-half goals by seniors Emily Futral and Ashley Batchelor to claim a 2-0 road shutout over Southern Wesleyan University in Conference Carolinas women's soccer play on Sunday.
The Lady Bulldogs (3-2-2, 2-1-2) controlled play throughout, enjoying a 23-4 edge in shots. Despite that advantage, however, the two sides went to intermission in a scoreless tie as Barton missed a number of golden opportunities high and wide of the net in the opening 45 minutes.
Futral, a resident of Richlands, N.C., finally found the mark just under 14 minutes into the second half. After receiving a header pass from Batchelor, Futral drove along the top of the box from left to right past two defenders to get an open look. She then drilled a shot that deflected off SWU keeper Courtney McNeil and into the right edge of the net for her third goal of the year.
Less than six minutes later, Batchelor tacked on another goal for Barton. Futral dribbled through traffic on the right side near midfield and then played a thru ball to Batchelor just outside the top of the box. Batchelor lofted a shot over the head of McNeil and into the far left corner of the net for her second goal of the season.
Southern Wesleyan (1-6, 0-4) had just three shots on goal, all coming in the second half against Barton reserve keeper Haley Sauls, who took over for starter Kelsey Rothwell at intermission.
Just after Batchelor's goal for the Lady Bulldogs, the Warriors produced their best scoring opportunity of the day when Grace Taylor broke free behind the BC defense for a one-on-one chance against Sauls. However, the sophomore keeper from Raleigh, N.C., dove to her right to knock down the curling attempt by Taylor.
In addition to the three saves, Sauls collected the win in goal, her first as a Lady Bulldog. McNeil, who took the loss for SWU, had nine saves.
The match was the first of four straight road matches for Barton. The Lady Bulldogs will face NCAA Division III opponent Southern Virginia on Wednesday in Buena Vista, Va., before returning to NCAA Division II and conference play next weekend at Lees-McRae College.
